TYPES AND CAUSES OF CRACKS AND CRACKING David Beal, BE, MEngSc, Msc(Lon), DIC, RPEQ, MIE(Aust), CPEng, Senior Lecturer in Concrete Technology and Design, Queensland University of Technology.1.0 INTRODUCTION Cracking in concrete is a phenomena which Is recognised world-wide. Some cracks in some situations do no harm and are entirely acceptable. In other concrete, cracks are serious defects, in that they adversely affect strength, function or appearance. There is considerable attention pald to the problemas of cracking but the current reaction to cracking is often dissociated from the significance of the crack in the situation in which it occurs. This reaction ranges from the extreme of concem about the presence of a single hair crack to the blasé view that cracks are part of the nature of concrete and can be safely ignored wherever they occur and however wide they are. 2.0 CRACKS IN CONCRETE ‘TYPES AND CAUSES OF CRACKS IN CONCRETE f i q zh richie | sue a oe codes site seca conctitinons cs, a. & oo tn oe he the oe Figure 1 - Causes of Cracking in ConcreteCracked concrete is usually a symptom rather than a fault. In the majority of cases, cracks do not result in structural failure, but they can result in definite loss of performance of the structure by causing accelerated deterioration potentially rendering the structure unserviceable. Cracks can be classified by direction, width and depth - namely longitudinal, transverse, vertical, diagonal and random. With regards to direction at the surface, there are two main kinds: map cracks or pattern cracks. These are rather uniformly distributed short cracks running in all directions roughly in hexagonal patterns; they indicate restraint of the surface layer by the inner concrete or backing. The other kind is the single continuous cracks which run In rather definite directions, often in parallel at definite intervals; they indicate restraint in the direction perpendicular to them. In most cases, cracks that appear and continue to develop after the concrete has hardened are considered active. Cracking is called dormant when it is caused by a factor that is not expected to occur again. Under this category are plastic cracks and cracks resulting from temporary overloading. Three width ranges are commonly referred to: Fine - generally less than Imm in width; Medium - between I and 2mm; Wide - over 2mm. Cracks up to 0.3mm wide are generally aesthetically acceptable. However, an acceptable crack width depends on the exposure to which the member is subjected. ‘The following values are recognised: for the most severe exposure (industrial or marine environment where watertightness is essential), 0.1mm; for normal external exposures, or internal exposure of structural members in a humid or aggressive atmosphere, 0.2mm; for intemal and protected members 0.3mm. Figure 1 shows a family tree of crack types. The cracks are classified into two broad categories including those that occur before hardening and those observed after hardening. Subtypes in the before-hardening category are due to constructional movement, settlement shrinkage, and setting shrinkage. These are caused by the subgrade settlement, movement of formwork by swelling of timber, or lack of robustness of the form and plastic shrinkage of concrete by the rapid evaporation of moisture from the concrete surfaces. After hardening, cracks are classified under six headings: physical, chemical, thermal, stress concentrations, structural design, and accidental overload. After-hardening cracks are caused by the later stages of drying shrinkage as well as those which are environmentally induced. Some of the phenomena which bring about environmentally induced cracking are: expansion due to the use of unsound cement, the alkali-aggregate reaction, sulfate attack, corrosion of embedded steel, freezing and thawing, thermal cycling, and mechanical loading. Figure 2 gives an idealised illustration of the various crack types that can occur in a hypothetical structure in typical situations. In all of these phenomena, environmentally induced moisture movement is the primary factor that may cause cracking. Table | summarises the characteristics of these cracks and lists the time periods In which these types of cracks appear.